EndoVine: Soft Robotic Endoscope for Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy is the gold standard examination procedure for screening colorectal cancer (CRC), providing the ability to inspect the lower digestive tract [1]. Standard colonoscopy is carried out with a minimally invasive approach based on a flexible endoscope controlled by the steering knobs. However, for routine screening, the intrusive nature of the intervention, the rigidity of the device and the lack of intuitiveness in steering can make the experience highly unpleasant to the recipient [2]. Pa- tient discomfort and pain are due to tissue stretching and friction as the endoscope is pushed through the colon [1]. Furthermore, the use of rigid instruments introduces risks such as tissue perforation and anaesthesia-related adverse events [2]. Overcoming the design limitations of the flexible endoscope by using soft material can reduce both tissue stretching and friction, making it more tolerable for the patient. Soft everting robots that show growth from the tip have demonstrated successful application in navigating highly constrained environment without damaging it. Tip-extending soft robots, called vine robots, take flex- ible film as body material and air pressure as input power to propel forward [3]. Natural orifice intraluminal procedures that operate through constrained bodily lu- mens such as colon, oesophagus, and trachea, represent suitable scenarios for vine robots. Recent work has in- vestigated soft pressure-driven colonoscope via inflation of tip balloons [4], which may cause harmful local tissue stretching. Another work by Dehghani et al. developed a pneumatically driven colonoscopy robot [5]; however, their prototype does not allow retraction of the tip and does not provide room for instruments. Retraction of vine robots is believed to be a challenging problem due to the buckling of the robots [3]. Therefore, in this abstract, we present an Endoscopic Vine robot (EndoVine) designed for colonoscopy with a novel retraction mechanism. EndoVine comprises a double inverted soft inflatable sleeve that propels the tip using internal pneumatic propulsion. It will be equipped with an internal flexible channel for the camera, light source and working instruments to enable bowel inspection.